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Children with bilateral Wilms’ tumors can retain normal function in both kidneys by undergoing bilateral nephron-sparing surgery, even when preoperative scans suggest that the tumors are inoperable, report researchers at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN.

Magnetic resonance imaging findings in prostate cancer patients about to undergo radiation therapy can help predict the likelihood that the cancer will return and spread post-treatment, according to a new study published in Radiology (2008; 247:141-6).

Chicago-A preoperative skin preparation product may be an effective, time-saving alternative for reducing skin bacterial counts preoperatively in men undergoing penile prosthesis surgery, say the authors of a pilot study from the University of South Florida, Tampa.

Results of a study comparing the in vitro antibacterial activity of antibiotic-dipped and non-antibiotic-dipped components of inflatable penile implants show differences favoring Titan implants dipped into antibiotic solutions of rifampin-gentamicin or bacitracin-gentamicin compared with the antibiotic (rifampin-minocycline)-coated technology of Inhibizone.

Men who present with infertility issues and their partners are relatively uninformed about the causes and treatments of male infertility, a fact that may be attributable to urologists' failure to properly market their capabilities in this area of clinical practice.

Serum-based tumor markers are not used in more than half of all patients who have testis cancer, report researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ann Arbor.

The FDA has approved SpermCheck Vasectomy (ContraVac, Inc., Charlottesville, VA), a diagnostic product that confirms men’s post-vasectomy sterility. The device will enable men to test their post-vasectomy fertility status at home, rather than returning to the physician’s office or a laboratory for confirmation.

PSA levels typically have correlated with prostate biopsy results in the detection of prostate cancer, but that correlation no longer exists for men with a normal prostate exam, suggest results of a study published online in Cancer. The study suggests that improved biopsy techniques make PSA less useful in prostate cancer screening.

Substantial variation in the prescribed and delivered doses of intensity-modulated radiation therapy for prostate and other cancers exists among medical institutions, raising concerns about the validity of comparing clinical outcomes, according to a University of Pennsylvania study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (2008; 100:300-7).

The department of urology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, NC, has added three new urologic oncologists to its faculty: Ashok K. Hemal, MD, A. Karim Kader, MD, PhD, and Joseph A. Pettus IV, MD.